Laura Lee

Assistant News Director for Talk

Laura Lee is WUNC’s Assistant News Director for Talk. Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, Laura returned to the Old North state in 2013 after several years in Washington, DC. She received her B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002 and her J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 2007.

Laura briefly strayed from her Tarheel allegiance in 2011 to obtain a masters degree in journalism from the University of Maryland where she was an Eleanor Merrill Fellow. Prior to WUNC, Laura worked for NPR on the Washington desk, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation.

Ways To Connect

Across the nation, protestors have taken to the street to call for reforms in police action. The protests come in the wake of two grand juries declining to indict police officers who killed Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

From the coast to the mountains, activists in North Carolina have joined the movement calling for greater police accountability.

Governor Pat McCrory joined 16 other state leaders in a lawsuit against the President over his executive action on immigration. The group contents Obama overstepped his authority. Republicans in Congress have threatened to shutdown the government over the policies.

Governor Pat McCrory tearfully announced the departure of the state’s Secretary of Commerce Sharon Decker. She will step down at the end of the month and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary John Skvarla will move to the commerce department. Also, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services proposed new rules for clinics in the state that perform abortions. A spokesperson for the department says the rules would likely permit the 14 currently operating clinics to remain open.

More than one billion people worldwide do not have enough to eat. Some experts estimate a need for more food in the next 40 years than in the last 10,000. National Geographic contributor Joel Bourne wrote a 2009 cover story, The End of Plenty, about the crisis. He has continued his reporting on the causes of the food shortage crisis and strategies used to address it. Host Frank Stasio talks with Bourne about his work.